ABSTRACT
Suicide is a multidimensional event (Leenaars, 1988, 2004; Shneidman, 1973b,
1985; Zilboorg, 1937). Suicide and suicidal behavior are multifaceted events.
We discussed this earlier under the ecological model (WHO, 2002). There are
biological, psychological, intrapsychic, interpersonal, sociological, cultural, and
philosophical elements in the event. Thus, suicide and suicidal behavior cannot
be reduced to a single factor. This complexity of causation indicates the necessity
of a parallel complexity of knowledge. Indeed, because suicide is a multifaceted
problem, it needs to be understood on several different levels at once. This is
equally true of homicide (Allen, 1980) and what presents to us too often today,
war-related deaths. We will explore these topics, but we will first discuss suicide
in some detail. Unequivocally, one has to know about suicide to understand a
suicidal soldier or veteran.
